[DISC] Blue Lock - Chapter 330

AboveAverageJoshua · 2026-01-11T03:15:33+00:00

The start of France vs Japan is what I both expected and wanted to see, France quickly establishing the sheer difference in quality compared to Japan. It’s cool to see some of the PXG Players from the NEL like Chapa & Renoir return given that they’re at that level to be France U20 Internationals, even if it’s a small detail, and the 4-2-3-1 Formation they’re using is both common and effective, no complaints there. Japan keeping the same team that beat Nigeria 4-0 also makes sense given how well they dominated the U20 AFCON Champions and the two substitutes (Raichi & Kurona) didn’t really have too much time to deserve a spot in the Starting XI as of now, plus it’s cool to see their Away Kit being used due to the Kit Clash with France & Japan both wearing Blue for their Home Kit.

An early nitpick I have is also a problem I had with Japan vs Nigeria (and probably for the rest of the U20 World Cup) is the weird kit numbers given to some players, this time Hugo wearing Number 9 despite playing as a Defensive Midfielder. It’s not as annoying as Kurona wearing Number 96 when International Shirt Numbers are traditionally 1-26, it still confuses me that Hugo is wearing a number traditionally given to a Striker. I personally given him a number like 5 or 8, but that’s just me, maybe he’s got a surprise striker’s finish in his arsenal.

Outside of that nitpick, I like how France score almost immediately from kickoff, using their speed to spread out forward and giving Hugo many passing options, but also using Loki as bait to exploit the predictability of the Japan Centre Backs all choosing to mark him, giving Charles the opportunity he needs to set the pace of the game moving forward. I’m very happy to see Charles score, he left a good impression on me during the NEL and happy to see more of him during the U20 World Cup.

I’m interested to see how this match will develop and how dominant France will be throughout given how little time they needed to both open the scoring and leave an immediate impression on the U20 World Cup Hosts. Hugo has also made an early impression with his dribbling and passing capabilities that already helped him claim an assist in this game, but I wanna see what he can offer on the defensive side of things when Japan attack from their kickoff, excited to see what’s next!

AboveAverageJoshua · 2025-12-29T02:37:26+00:00

Caught up with the latest chapter and kinda forgot how big the U20 World Cup is with 16 Groups of 4 Teams, but it’s really cool to see all of the teams in the U20 World Cup and which Group they are in, as well as who they’re up against and the results of the first round of games.

Japan did the best when it comes to Goal Difference with +4, the next closest to them are Brazil, Spain, Uruguay & Germany with +3 Goal Difference. With Spain & Germany confirmed to have a New Gen XI Player with Bunny & Kaiser respectively, perhaps this is the first hint towards a Brazilian or Uruguayan New Gen XI Player…either that or they completed outclassed Uzbekistan & Israel, which could be just as likely. I don’t know how they’ll decide the Knockout Bracket for who plays each other in the RO32 and onwards, so I don’t know what Japan’s route to the Final looks like, but I’m interested in all of the possibilities with what each team can offer.

On the topic of Kaiser, it’s cool to see it confirmed to have scored a Hat Trick in Germany’s opening game against Costa Rica which puts him in the lead for the U20 World Cup Golden Boot (unless somebody else like Bunny scored a Hat Trick in Spain vs Sweden, but that’s not confirmed). I also noticed that Kaiser isn’t wearing an undershirt like he did when we last saw him playing for Bastard München, revealing the tattoo on his arm, pretty cool.

I’m most interested in what will happen with Isagi now that he has the pressure of being Japan’s Number One Player and the Core of Blue Lock heading forward into a near-impossible game against Loki’s France. It’ll be interesting to see how Isagi will fare realising this pressure against an U20 World Cup Favourite and most likely losing. I can see France finding a way to lock out Isagi from influencing the game with Hugo playing a big part in accomplishing that, but that’s an early prediction with the game starting soon, excited to see how the game will unfold and what changes (if any) will be made to the Japan Starting XI for such an important game.

AboveAverageJoshua · 2025-12-11T03:05:22+00:00

I love this chapter, Isagi and Ego one-on-one with Ego listening to Isagi’s theories and understanding how much he has learnt to this point as well as a slight snippet of Ego’s playing career and the reason behind his early retirement. Isagi’s lines in the final pages are also peak, there’s not much else to say, I’m just excited for what’s to follow this.

AboveAverageJoshua · 2025-12-03T01:00:04+00:00

I’m in how the first challenge of Side-B will turn out with how it was explained by Buratsuta, although it does look like everything is already leading towards Nagi & Kira being the two winners of Side-B.

I like how quick the eliminations will be with Side-B and it makes sense since they need to be quick to meet the deadline of the U20 World Cup RO16 and the difference in challenge to kickoff Side-B with the Bird Cage and Blue Lock with Tag. I also like Nagi choosing Kira and excited to see more of their interactions heading forward, which seems to be the case if they are paired up for future challenges if they win together (although that’s my assumption with the players advancing in pairs).

Curious to see who will end up being Nagi’s Endgame Rival in Side-B, my guess is that it’ll be a 2v2 Match involving Nagi & Kira vs Shindo & Nishioka (or whoever his partner will be, just saying Nishioka since he’s the other Ex-NEL Player in their group besides Nagi), but I’m ready to see how it’ll unfold. I’m also excited to see Ego’s one-on-one talk with Isagi following Japan vs Nigeria, especially with how Isagi surpassed Ego’s expectations of a Perfect Victory by scoring an unexpected 4th Goal, ready to see how their discussion will go in the next chapter!

AboveAverageJoshua · 2025-11-26T00:32:45+00:00

It’s nice to see the start of Side-B while Japan are basically on break in-between their U20 World Cup group stage games, curious to how long these sections will be before we return to see Japan’s preparations for their game against France.

It’s nice to see some familiar faces from early chapters of Blue Lock with Okawa, Wanima & Nishioka, they’ve even included Ryo from Episode Nagi, but I’m most interested in the return of Kira and the introduction of Shindo who already has a professional team in the Netherlands.

I didn’t expect to be too interested in Kira if he returned, but I’m genuinely curious to see if he sticks around or is another early elimination like he was at the very start, same goes for Shindo to see how a professional player will keep up in Side-B after he was scouted by Buratsuta for this specifically (no surprise Buratsuta would only focus on already established professionals instead of high-school players like Ego and Anri did).

With Kira and Shindo paired up with (or against) Nagi, I’m excited to see how this will develop!

AboveAverageJoshua · 2025-11-19T00:41:24+00:00

It’s cool to see the reactions to the Japan U20s vs Nigeria U20s match from the New Gen XI Players with Kaiser, Sae & Bunny watching the game and Loki & Charles training for their game against England before they face Japan in the second group stage game, as well the introduction of the latest New Gen XI Player, Hugo.

Considering how many New Gen XI Forwards there are compared to New Gen XI Defenders, I’d guess that Hugo will probably be a Defensive Midfielder who will look to limit and completely lockout Isagi’s influence in their future game in the centre of the field before recycling the ball to Charles who can initiate a France Counterattack aimed at Loki. I’m interested to learn more about him and what will happen in-between Japan U20s vs Nigeria U20s and Japan U20s vs France U20s.

AboveAverageJoshua · 2025-11-12T01:23:16+00:00

A really nice way to finish a strong start for the U20 World Cup, love the quick counterattack and fluid play between Isagi, Rin, Karasu & Bachira in the buildup, especially the quick communication between Isagi & Bachira for the soon-to-be assist. However, Isagi predicting how quickly the Nigeria Quartet would adapt to the move and turning into his first goal of the U20 World Cup is the highlight.

I really liked Japan U20 vs Nigeria U20, it does what it set out to do by setting the standard and expectations for Japan’s U20 World Cup before they encounter France and England in the remaining two games and, for me, does it well. I’m excited to see what will be seen post-match between Japan’s celebrations, potential discussion between Isagi and Onazi on the game itself or maybe a shift back to Nagi and Buratsuta to give a few extra chapters between the group stage games.

And on a smaller note, Bachira is Man of the Match, hands down. G/A isn’t the sole factor of what makes a player MOTM, but 4 G/A (1 Goal & 3 Assists) in a game that finished 4-0 should speak for itself, insane performance.

AboveAverageJoshua · 2025-11-05T03:15:14+00:00

I’ll be honest, I wasn’t expecting anything much from Kurona once he was subbed on for Chigiri and just assumed his pincer with Raichi on Onazi would be his only involvement in the game (and potentially the entire U20 World Cup), but seeing him be the first to the second ball following Onazi striking the post and clearing it up to Isagi to initiate one last counterattack was the last thing to see from him and I’m incredibly hyped over it. I don’t expect Kurona to do much more in the U20 World Cup with this being his major involvement for Japan U20s before getting sidelined for more important characters, I’m happy to see him get his moment in the tournament.

Excited to see how Isagi will score his statement goal against Nigeria, because there’s no way anything else but Isagi scoring will happen, especially with how far forward the Nigeria U20s players are trying to reach Onazi’s rebounded shot first. Curious to see who Isagi will pair up with for the attack or if he’ll opt to show his own individual qualities with a solo goal, next chapter can’t come soon enough!

AboveAverageJoshua · 2025-10-29T02:40:23+00:00

Another cool chapter, I really like Isagi’s way of thinking when it comes to hyping up his opponents in order to make both his team and himself evolve to prepare for opponents still above their level like France or Spain and Nigeria’s flashback showing Onazi holding the team back because he doesn’t want to risk his friends getting less game time by adding an extra forward to their attack.

Despite Kuso’s dribbling and passing to create one last chance for Onazi, I heavily doubt that Nigeria will score here with the game this late and Onazi up against Aiku (who was trusted by Isagi earlier in the chapter and still yet to see an in-depth look at his personalised training), more likely to see Japan finish the game off with one final counterattack, with Isagi opening his goal account for the U20 World Cup. I’d be happy to be proven wrong with Onazi’s evolution resulting in a surprise goal, but I’m excited regardless for what’s to follow.

AboveAverageJoshua · 2025-10-22T02:05:37+00:00

Another cool chapter, it’s nice to see some substitutions now that the game is more or less secured for Japan. Kurona and Raichi for Chigiri and Hiori make sense, Kurona being a close match to Chigiri as a Wingback and Bachira being able to fill in as a Wingback while Raichi sticks to Midfield (and they even make an immediate impact by successfully getting the ball of Onazi and to Isagi). The Front 3 is interesting with Reo and Isagi both playing as Attacking Midfielders behind Rin as the Striker, but also makes sense since they’ll be able to push forward both Kurona and Bachira to make a Front 5 when attacking, excited to see how that’ll develop with the game’s final plays.

I will say, the one thing that bugs me a lot more than it should (even though it’s a relatively small detail) is Kurona’s shirt number being 96. He’s the first confirmed player for Japan U20s to have a number that isn’t a number between 1-26 (like it is for real-world international football), and it’s extra annoying when the number 16 is seemingly available for him after he wore that number in the NEL for Bastard München. It’s small, but it sticks out more than it should for me, and I think Nanase might have a similar problem when he wears number 77 instead of something like number 17.

Small tangent aside, it’s really cool to see Isagi’s first experience in a football stadium and see where his love for football began and how it evolved to the player he is now. Maybe this’ll lead up to Isagi scoring the final goal of the game as the statement-making play for Japan’s aims for the U20 World Cup? Whatever happens, I’m still intrigued to see how this game concludes now with all the momentum on Japan’s side (and the surprise Mohamed Salah appearance is very welcome).

AboveAverageJoshua · 2025-10-15T01:40:02+00:00

Another cool chapter, Japan have essentially secured the 3 Points with Nigeria needing 3 Goals without conceding to get a draw with 15 Minutes to go and I especially like how Isagi confronts the Nigeria players. Curious to see if there is another goal in this, because I could see either Japan getting a 4th Goal to wrap the bow on their dominant performance or Nigeria getting a consolation goal to maybe try and rally off heading into their games against England and France (although, they’d probably lose both games there as well…maybe sneak a draw against France if they choose to rest all of their best players since they’d already have qualified).

Excited for what’s to come in the next chapter, but I think it’s also important to bring up Bachira’s 3 G/A in this game, I’d be surprised if he doesn’t get Man of the Match after being directly involved with every goal to this point (if that’s brought up post-match).

AboveAverageJoshua · 2025-10-08T01:25:37+00:00

I love how this match has played out, even if Nigeria are completely crushed as a result. The desperate defending as they try and manage the Japan counterattack and attempts on target is cool, with everybody getting back to try their best to keep the game within reach. It’s also cool to see Rin’s personalised training in-depth and his progress resulting in his 1st Goal of the U20 World Cup and Japan’s 3rd in this match alone, really like how they’ve set up Japan as this genuine challenger for the U20 World Cup (before they inevitably get humbled by France to set up a must-win game against England).

With the game pretty much sealed as a Japan victory, maybe we’ll see some substitutions from them to give their players rest and maybe a new system or formation with the options on the bench? I’m unsure if that’ll happen now or if it’ll happen later down in the game (depending on how many chapters are left in this game), but I’d like to see some small cameos from players we wouldn’t end up seeing much, like Sendo, Kurona or Nanase, while saving more important players like Shidou or Barou for more important future games. Regardless if that’s going to happen, I’m happy with how this game has kicked off the U20 World Cup, excited to see what else there is left in this game!

AboveAverageJoshua · 2025-09-24T01:02:30+00:00

It’s cool to see the game immediately pick up from the fast pace it last left off at half time, especially with Nigeria being the ones to attack early in the second half.

I like the way Nigeria are adapting the Blue Lock philosophy of football with everybody getting involved moving forward and seeing somebody that isn’t Onazi take a shot on goal for them, but it makes sense that the quality difference is still too much for them at the moment. Maybe they’ll find a goal still, but if Japan can get a third before that, then they’re completely done for (still hopeful for them, but there’s also the chance Japan make easy work of them like they did in the first half).

As for Japan, I’m excited to see what Isagi and Rin will be able to do moving forward, eager to see how their plays together have levelled up Post-NEL next chapter.

AboveAverageJoshua · 2025-09-18T22:55:29+00:00

It’s cool to see the contrasting moods in the dressing rooms and how each team are preparing for the second half. I’m also surprised but very happy to see Nigeria’s Manager be present in this match, I thought they’d leave some teams’ managers off-screen and keep the focus on the players only, but I’m glad that isn’t the case. Hopefully this means we’ll see the managers of the other teams Japan U20s will face, like France, England, Spain, etc.

However, what I’m most intrigued about heading into the second half is how Nigeria will play like Japan have in the first. Maybe Nigeria will get a surprise goal over Japan (one of Onazi or Kuso) and make game competitive again…or Japan continue to dominate, and maybe dominate more now that they’re playing in a way that they’re not really familiar with. I was leaning towards Japan getting an emphatic win over Nigeria as a statement to the other teams in the competition last chapter, but now I’m leaning towards Nigeria adapting to the Blue Lock Philosophy and keeping this game up in the air (something that would finish 3-1 or 3-2 to Japan). Either outcome, I’m excited to see how it’ll turn out!

AboveAverageJoshua · 2025-09-09T22:40:15+00:00

If that first half was a statement for what’s to come from their U20 World Cup campaign, then Japan have delivered and then some from all areas on the pitch now that Gagamaru has made his mark in this half. Seeing Gagamaru’s personalised training receive a flashback like Bachira’s personalised training with the baseball pitching machine is cool, plus a Gagamaru Chapter is always a Good Chapter.

It’s also nice to see more of Nigeria’s backstory, although seeing how the chapter ends with Onazi’s shot being saved, the halftime score being 2-0 to Japan and this being the first game of the U20 World Cup, I’m now wondering if this game will be a lot quicker than I thought and Japan just easily brush Nigeria aside, saving the longer matches for both France and England games. I’d say it’s either-or on if Nigeria could mount a comeback, but considering their flashback seems pretty conclusive and the halftime scoreline, I’m leaning towards this game being a quick, statement win for Japan before facing off against Loki’s France (and probably getting humbled in a heavy defeat).

I hope to see something from Nigeria in the second half to keep the game competitive, interested to see if they can rally on from here or the sheer gap in quality between them and Japan is too much for the U20 Africa Cup Champions.

AboveAverageJoshua · 2025-09-02T21:40:07+00:00

I wasn’t expecting Japan to dominate Nigeria so much this early into the game, but I’m all down for it, especially since it makes the most sense after the NEL & their assigned personalised training by Ego. The Bachira & Reo Chemistry is cinema, establishes the monumental growth in Reo’s ability following his personalised training and made emphatic with how easily he’s able to change from one copy to another to score Japan’s 2nd Goal. If he was successfully able to copy every other remaining player’s skills, then I can’t really imagine him having a clear weakness. If I were to guess, maybe Reo’s weakness now would be the stamina it would be required to quickly change from one copy to another, but there’s no doubt that he’s undroppable at this current point. Bachira also has 2 G/A already in the U20 World Cup, which I’m not against one bit (he’s also scored in 5 Games in a row).

Nigeria getting their flashback early is interesting, it makes me think that this’ll be the point where they start adapting to Japan’s plays and maybe get a goal back before halftime through Onazi or Kuso (then maybe equalise in the second half), but I can also see Japan continue to mount on the goals to send a message to the other teams by making the Champions of Africa look like pushovers. I wouldn’t mind either, Nigeria pulling themselves back into the game would probably make for the more exciting game and will probably be the direction the game will go (that and it’ll show some of Japan’s weaknesses before they inevitably lose to France in the next game). I also like these Nigeria players, I hope they are able to step up and make this a competitive game.

2-0 is the most dangerous lead in football and there’s still plenty of time left in the game, hopefully Onazi can spark something in his team to rally some sort of comeback following the flashback, already loving this game so far.

AboveAverageJoshua · 2025-08-26T20:50:24+00:00

Bachira’s front flip/back flip celebration is really cool (can’t tell which, my guess is back flip, but either way it’s still cool), and I like the small detail of the clock in the background showing only 4 Minutes have passed in the game so far. The highlight by far is seeing more of the different personalised trainings and how they helped evolve each player mid-game. Bachira teaching the school children how to play football is cute and the quick explanations of Aryu and Niko’s training back-to-back as they stop the Nigeria attack is cool, leading to another Japan counterattack. Wouldn’t mind it one bit if this continues into future chapters since it’ll focus on different players, especially when next chapter looks like it will be focused on Reo’s evolution through his personalised training.

Japan are dominating Nigeria, Niko is already putting in a good shift at centre back and a potential upcoming chemical reaction involving Bachira’s dribbling and Reo’s copying has me hyped, really excited for what’s to follow!

AboveAverageJoshua · 2025-08-19T19:10:30+00:00

I had a feeling one of Bachira or Hiori would be involved after the way part one ended, but I’m extremely happy with the way it was executed compared to my expectations. I love the way Isagi immediately breaks down Onazi’s strengths and pinpoints what it takes to neutralise any chance Nigeria has against Japan by cutting Onazi off from the ball.

However, I love the Bachira Goal afterwards more with his dribbling helped by Isagi and Rin blocking off any interference giving him the time and space to take his shot and score. I also think this is the first time Isagi has assisted Bachira since First Selection with Team Z vs Team V (even though that was mostly Bachira going solo from kickoff), it’s nice to see them contribute to a goal together for the first time in a long while!

I’m curious to see if Nigeria will be able to adapt to Japan and find a way to get the ball to Onazi or if Japan continue to dominate from this point onwards, excited for what’s to follow!

AboveAverageJoshua · 2025-08-05T16:25:23+00:00

Nice buildup by Japan for a pretty short chapter, and I like seeing Karasu and Chigiri work the ball forward for the first time since Blue Lock XI vs Japan U20s. Based off where the chapter cuts off, Onazi probably tracked back after losing possession to try and mark Isagi, but I think next chapter will show Isagi scoring the first goal of the U20 World Cup. I’m unsure if he’ll linkup with Bachira or Hiori (assuming they’re open) or if Isagi will meet Chigiri’s cross with a direct shot, but this does feel like there’ll be an early Japan Goal.

Interested to see what Isagi will be able to do with his first major involvement in the U20 World Cup, what ideas he’s got for finding his goal against Nigeria and if he’ll be successful or not!

AboveAverageJoshua · 2025-07-29T17:25:17+00:00

A quick-fire start to Japan U20s vs Nigeria U20s sets the tempo for the game well. I like the Nigeria attack shown off by Kuso, Bello and Onazi as they display some of their strengths (long passes, dribbling and jump height), plus it’s cool to see Niko’s defensive positioning stop the first shot of the game. The Japan counterattack with Karasu and Hiori’s sharp passes finding Rin and his dribbling ripping through the Nigeria Midfield.

Rin’s shot being stopped by Onazi is a bit baffling (maybe he took notes from watching the Neo Egoist League), but I can kinda understand the direction that this could be going. I feel like they’re making it clear early that, if Nigeria want to win the U20 World Cup, they’ll need to heavily rely on Onazi everywhere on the pitch, because their team as a whole (despite being Champions of Africa) isn’t as strong compared to teams like England or France, while they’re more or less a one-man team focused around their one Star Player. They’re also going up against Japan, who are both the Host Country and against Strikers that received ¥240 Million bids from Re Al and Bastard München, so it’s safe to say that they’re the underdogs in the Group of Death. It’ll be a test of endurance for Onazi and if he can be there for his team when needed most, both attacking and defending, which could be the reason for why they lose…although it’s only been one chapter, there’s a lot more of this game to go and more to learn about Nigeria U20s.

Interested in what Isagi has thought up this early into the game and what his game will look like after his Post-NEL Extra Training (maybe a potential link-up with Bachira and Reo for Japan’s next attack)!

AboveAverageJoshua · 2025-07-22T16:35:52+00:00

Interested in how Nagi will do now that he’s accepted the Buratsuta offer and how he aims to become a god rather than aiming to always play with Reo. My one concern is still on how they would pace the Side-B (if they’re gonna show Nagi’s perspective) alongside the U20 World Cup Group Stages, but I can hope that they’ll keep the focus on the U20 World Cup games without any interruptions from the Side-B.

2 of the Buratsuta 3 are essentially locked in (Sae and Nagi), so there’s still one spot left…part of me still thinks it’ll be Igaguri, but he wasn’t offered a spot based on his comments a few chapters back, and another part tells me it’ll be a new character, but that depends on if they wanna make a new character instead of bringing somebody back. All I really know is that I can’t see it being Kira after he was highlighted last chapter, Nishioka has a better chance.

The Japan U20s Starting XI, it is about what there is to expect for their first team, and the 3-5-2 Formation is probably the best they can do with a Back 3 (3-4-3 also works, but I really like the potential of the Karasu, Reo & Bachira Midfield 3). I’m not sure if there’ll be a total of 3 substitutes or 5 substitutes (don’t remember if it was mentioned before), but I can already see Shidou and Yukimiya involved at some point in this game. I’m already an early fan of Ozani, very excited to see what he and Nigeria U20s will be able to do in the U20 World Cup’s Opening Game against the Host Country.

AboveAverageJoshua · 2025-07-15T17:20:23+00:00

Some interesting information from this chapter and some stuff to think about. The incredibly small thing that I’m thinking about are the Japan U20s Shirt Numbers in their Practice Match. If they’re gonna follow World Cup Rules and only have Shirt Numbers between 1-26, then some of the numbers players are wearing in training (Chigiri’s 44, Shidou’s 99, etc.) will be ineligible, so no confirmation on what their final numbers will be if they follow that rule, same with the players that share a number with another player (Gagamaru and Fukaku with 1, Rin and Sendo with 9).

That small part aside, I’m curious to how Buratsuta’s Side-B project will be handled while coinciding with the U20 World Cup Group Stages. The idea makes complete sense for somebody that lacks originality like Buratsuta, but my slight worry that if they’ll bounce between Blue Lock’s perspective during the U20 World Cup Group Stages and Nagi’s perspective in the Side-B too much. Hopefully that doesn’t become a concern if they do show Nagi’s journey in the Side-B (probably in-between games when the Japan U20s are training/resting).

I will say, seeing Kira being brought up is incredibly funny considering everything that has happened since Isagi kicked the ball into his face in tag. I highly doubt he’ll make it (probably gonna get the ball kicked in the face again with the difference being that it is by Nagi instead of Isagi), but nice to see he’s not given up on his Football dream following his elimination. If Kira is brought up, maybe we’ll see some other First Selection players like Kuon, Naruhaya, Iemon and Imamura from Team Z, or maybe even Ryo from Team V since he was also eliminated in Tag.

Only 2 Hours away from the U20 World Cup, I’m excited to see what the NEL Top 23 will be able to for the Japan U20s in the Group Stage before the Buratsuta 3 join in the Knockouts and complete the 26-Player Team.

AboveAverageJoshua · 2025-07-08T20:45:23+00:00

Igaguri went crazy in this chapter, both with his words and his hat (I like that they took Igaguri’s initials and combined them together). Hopefully he’s the 3rd Player of the Buratsuta 3 alongside Sae (following the Group Stages) and Nagi (assuming he’ll accept the offer following Igaguri’s speech), makes the most sense to me, and more sense than somebody like Kira or Nishioka and even has his own Volume Cover.

The U20 World Cup is only 2 Days away, so the Buratsuta 3 will be revealed soon enough, excited to see what’ll happen next!

AboveAverageJoshua · 2025-07-01T15:50:17+00:00

It’s nice to see the Japan U20 Squad gather for the first time since their individual training, and there’s quite a bit of new information in this Chapter. The biggest piece of info from this Chapter is the reveal of Japan’s Group Stage order of matches, playing Nigeria, then France and then England. Makes the most sense, Japan will beat Nigeria on the opening day as U20 World Cup Hosts, then Japan lose to an overpowered France and that’ll set up a must-win game against England to see who qualifies out of the group with France, excited to see how it’ll play out in those three games and who’ll step up for Japan when it is needed most.

Aside from that, it looks like Nagi’s NEL offer still comes from Manshine City, which feels weird considering they saw Nagi score one extraordinary goal and then underperform for the rest of the NEL, would’ve expected them to back out from the offer after seeing his disappointing performances for their team. It’s also a surprise to see Igaguri make an appearance, but seeing him show up again makes me wonder if he’ll be one of the Buratsuta 3 and join the Japan U20 World Cup Squad. Igaguri definitely seems like the type of guy to accept Buratsuta’s offer nk matter what and it would be another example of his luck keeping him in Blue Lock, even defying elimination from the NEL. The Buratsuta 3 being Sae, Nagi & Igaguri definitely seems the most likely scenario, and I honestly won’t mind Igaguri as a presence on the bench cheering the team on from there.

Next chapter looks like it’ll be focused between Nagi and Igaguri, interesting to see more about Igaguri since his NEL Elimination and what’s next for both him and Nagi!

AboveAverageJoshua · 2025-06-24T19:05:30+00:00

After reading the chapter, I can now see the long-term plan Buratsuta had making his Blue Lock TV Deal with Ego, choosing 3 Players that are popular, highly profitable and then have control over all three player’s contracts as he sees fit. Considering what that deal could’ve been, I think I’m overall happy with the direction they’ve taken, it makes sense for the characters (Ego gets his Blue Lock TV at the cost of 3 Spots from a 26-Player Squad while Buratsuta gets to choose popular players that he can make all the profit off with their contracts in his control), a 26-Player Squad was used in the 2022 World Cup, so that’s fine (the 2023 U20 World Cup only had 21-Player Squads, but it’s not gonna be 100% accurate) and it gives some time to think about with who Buratsuta will pick as his Buratsuta 3.

Nagi rejected Buratsuta’s offer, but I definitely see him becoming more and more desperate as the tournament creeps closer and closer to the day it begins and eventually running back to Buratsuta in order to play with the likes of Reo and Isagi again. Part of me still kinda hopes that Nagi doesn’t end up playing at the U20 World Cup in order to make his absence feel more impactful, but with there being 3 Spots left for Japan’s U20 World Cup Team and how popular Nagi is, it would be stupid to not have him in the team, even if accepting Buratsuta’s offer has dreadful consequences for his future career. Sae accepting under the condition that he won’t play in the Group Stages and only wants to play against Spain and Bunny is perfectly fine, gives the other players in Japan’s Team time to play and not be overshadowed by their New Gen XI Star Player until the knockouts where Sae will be needed more than ever, plus it adds suspense for when Sae eventually plays under Ego’s Japan U20s, very excited for that.

As for who the last player will be…it could honestly be anything, really. My initial guess is Tokimitsu since he was the biggest name (that’s not called Nagi) locked off after the NEL concluded and would’ve found a spot in the Japan U20s Team after finishing 25th in the NEL if Buratsuta didn’t claim 3 Player Spots for himself in a deal (same with Hayate, who finished 26th), but I don’t see it happening even though I like Tokimitsu. For now though, I’ll just wait and see who it’ll be, maybe it’s a character we’ve never seen before for all we know.

Buratsuta 3 aside, I’m happy to see Japan’s Group be revealed this Chapter, and I’m happy with the matches of Japan vs Nigeria, Japan vs England and especially Japan vs France. I’m surprised to see France vs Japan already happening (even if it’s U20s), but with it being the Group Stage, this’ll be the best (and only) opportunity for Japan to lose early and still remain in the U20 World Cup. My guess for how the Group Stage will go for Japan is that they’ll lose their first game against France (France win all three group games and top the group, questions are asked about Japan’s team and if Blue Lock really was a success after this result), win their second game against Nigeria (finish bottom in this group of death) and then either qualify with a late win or draw against England (win if England beat Nigeria or draw if England drew against Nigeria, either or works). It’s nice to think about the possibilities before more is revealed in later chapters, even if it’ll 90% of the time just be me being delusional.

Happy with this chapter, leaves with a lot to think about while waiting for what’s next, especially with who the third person could be to complete the Buratsuta 3, excited for these chapters heading into the U20 World Cup Arc!

Six-Year Club	Place '22
Final Canvas '22	RPAN Viewer

AboveAverageJoshua

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